PIONEERS STILL ALIVE IN TIGHT RACE FOR LEAGUE TITLE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

When the Simi Valley High School girls' basketball team lost to Royal last week to drop a full game behind Thousand Oaks in the Marmonte League standings, coach Dave Murphy figured the Pioneers' chances of winning their second straight league championship had vanished.

Now, he isn't so sure.

That's because the Thousand Oaks Lancers will be without Jenn Detmer when they play Westlake tonight. Detmer was ejected from a nonleague game against Cerritos Valley Christian on Saturday and, according to Southern Section rules, must sit out an additional game.

Thousand Oaks coach Chuck Brown will make a call into the Southern Section office, hoping that Saturday's nonleague ejection would not affect Detmer's status for tonight's league matchup. But he didn't sound hopeful.

``A rule is a rule,'' he said.

And that means Simi Valley could benefit.

``In a way I guess we've got another shot,'' said Murphy, who hopes that Westlake can compete with Thousand Oaks with Detmer on the sidelines.

The Lancers (10-2 in league) all but secure the league title with a win tonight, but a loss coupled with a Simi Valley (9-3) win against Channel Islands(10-2) and a Royal (9-3) win against Camarillo creates a four-way tie for first place with one game left to play.

On the other hand, a Thousand Oaks loss and a Channel Islands win means the Raiders are alone in first place.

``We're just going to play as hard as we can and hope for the best in these next two games,'' said Murphy.

For the Pioneers, they'll continue their season-long quest for respect tonight against the Raiders.

You figure they've earned it by now. The mere fact that they've positioned themselves for a shot at the league title is noteworthy in itself. After losing star Tawnee Cooper to graduation last year, most people assumed Simi Valley would suffer a fall off.

Not so.

``We've done pretty well, considering.'' said Simi Valley guard Christina Mosesso, who didn't have to finish the statement to get her point acoss.

The Pioneers currently share second place with Royal while Thousand Oaks and Channel Islands share first place. For Simi Valley, a win tonight and a victory on Thursday against the Chargers guarantees no worse then a tie for second place. And with a little help, Simi Valley can tie for or win the league crown outright.

``I'm happy with the way this team has played,'' Murphy said. ``They've worked hard and played well.''

Mosesso, a talented outside shooter who has been a key player since her freshman year, isn't surprised that the Pioneers have rebounded from the loss of Cooper. At the same time, she feels there is definite room for improvement as the season winds down.

``There are things that we can do better,'' Mosesso said. ``Sometimes we'll play strong one night and the next game we don't play as well. But if we continue to work hard, especially on our offense, I think we'll be okay.''

Channel Islands might be a bigger surprise then Simi Valley. The Raiders finished in seventh place a year ago but have played well enough this season to make a run at the championship.

``I expect a rough and tumble game,' Mosesso said. ``Not so much rough, but just a good game.''

The Raiders generally like to play zone defense, which suits Mosesso and her outside shooting just fine. But if they chose to play man-to-man, the Pioneers have other weapons in Shannon Malia and Jamie Sturdivant.

``We had a number of players step up and play well for us this year,'' Mosesso said. ``That's been the key. I definitely think we've played better then most people thought we would.''

In another area game with huge implications, Moorpark hosts Nordhoff tonight to determine first place in the Frontier League. The winner will likely go on to capture the league championship.